?5 

12.4- 
.J6 











^^'€V'S 



Book— iZ^ 




TPHOUJOH^; 



,^6 



LQT€[^^^T [p^(e)i[p[|(OTi m /AMEm©^. 



^S? aSQ^^a 



ai? Q^ n-^mmQ^ 



/ 



PRINTED BY JOHN WIURPHY 



MDCCCXXXIX, 



KJ 



NOTE. 

This essay is published unhesilatinglj-, (and tlic author hopes, unostcntatiouslj-,) 
with the conviction that every American citizen has a right to make known Lis 
sentiments, on any subject whatever. 



r 






DEDICATION. 

To W. E. Burton, Esq. 

Dear Sir,— To you I dedicate this short essay, in admiration of your 
mind, and as a well meant (however unworthy) token of gratitude for your 
friendship. Respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
No. 14 Calvert street, ') j JONES 

July 4, 1839. S 



I'Hoiu^iHnr 



LDTIH^I^Y P[g©SPl©T© ®F ^IMlil^D©^. 



The problem that all men are born with equal rights, has been 
settled by America in the face of the world — but that the Ameri- 
cans are endowed with all the intellectual attributes of the most 
favored of nature, time must discover, and conjectures for the 
future can only be based on the present condition of the people 
and the history of the past. 

If distinct races are differently gifted, and various climates 
peculiarly characterized in a mental point of view, the Americans 
may claim all the advantages resulting from either, inasmuch as 
they derive their origin from the most cultivated nations, and the 
extent of their territory embraces every variety of climate. 

But it cannot be denied that the European countries possess 
many advantages over our republic in the pursuit of letters. 
They have their ancient institutions of learning, wherein the wis- 
dom of ages is collected; their professed authors, whose lives 
are devoted to literature; and their gentlemen of leisure, whose 
fortunes are acquired by inheritance, who naturally engage in the 
pursuit of literature and the elegant arts. These combine to 
maintain their enlightened position, and to facilitate their future 
advances. They have a 'long start' of the Americans in the 
great race for national glory, and could mensuration as correctly 
set forth the destiny of states from premises palpable to all, as 
may be told the future revolutions of planets, calculated from the 
same infallible data which has invariably proved correct — then 
the prize would inevitably be to the strong and experienced, and 
the new fledged aspirants of our young confederacy would 
doubtless be 'distanced.' 



6 

There are also oilier causes which might seem to indicate our 
present incompetency to contend Avith Europeans for the glories 
of literature. We are not only destitute of an ancient and 
romantic history, but also indisposed to cherish legends of the 
past. The great mass of Americans have their thoughts only 
on the future, and their struggles are for money rather than for 
fame. Originally destitute and discontented, and driven by per- 
secution to a new world, they have hitherto been employed in 
the acquisition of those bodily comforts which the abode in a 
wilderness rendered so essential, and in framing a liberal mode 
of government to obviate all the evils endured in the country 
from which they fled. There still remain for the thrifty 
innumerable channels for the attainment of wealth in our vast 
uncultivated regions of productive land. Our commerce is also 
far from its acme, and thousands are reaping the profits of mer- 
cantile enterprise. 

Thus, then, are we situated: With no classic institutions of 
former generations, no aristocratic classes possessing wealth and 
leisure, and but few who would barter their opportunities of 
accumulating riches for the precarious and often miserable occu- 
pation of an author. But the most powerful and withering cause 
which has operated against the chances of our country in the 
competition for literary honors, has been the piratical course 
pursued by our publishers, in reprinting the productions of foreign 
pens, because they could be procured without expense. This 
has not only been the means of disheartening many a native 
writer, but it has also promulgated European fancies and Euro- 
pean sentiments, until many citizens of the republic have imbibed 
a partiality for foreign customs, and readily adopt the fashions 
of gorgeous courts. The periodical press was long indebted to 
the same sources for its matter, and whilst American contribu- 
tors were neglected and discouraged, the fame of some British 
scribbler was either acquired or consummated on this side of the 
Atlantic. 

Yet, notwithstanding all that may be said in favor of other 
countries, and to the disadvantage of America in the pursuit of 
literary renown, there is still a hope entertained by the Ameri- 
cans — a real or fancied star observed presiding over their destiny, 



in which they have implicit faith, and tliey continue to cherish 
the expectation, nay, determination^ to rival in greatness all that 
is recorded of the most glorious nations. And the miraculous 
triumphs they have accomplished seem to warrant their most 
extravagant expectations. Weak in numbers, oppressed and 
reviled, America threw back the scorns, and redressed the 
injuries heaped upon her by the most powerful and haughty 
empire of the earth. She opposed her infant strength to the 
giant arm of a mighty kingdom which had crushed its foes for 
centuries, and trusting to the justice of that Being, who endowed 
all mankind with equal rights and immortal aspirations, she 
triumphed even in her inauspicious condition, and established a 
noble and happy form of government, despite the obstacles inter- 
posed by old and grasping monarchies, the absence of celebrated 
law-givers, and her apparent destitution of national resources. 
The penetration of statesmen and the experience of sages had 
asserted the impossibility of success; and yet the grand object 
of a diminutive, but determined band of men, was accomplished. 

This era in the revolutions of the earth, serves to prove that 
the magnitude and power of the human mind, cannot be measured 
by mathematical calculation. The sea of intellect has not yet been 
fathomed — for each generation continues to usher into existence 
hitherto undiscovered regions. Neither are the mariners of the 
illimitable mental ocean confined to the highborn. The worldly 
poor and the worldly degraded, possessing the divine gift of 
mind, not unfrequently mount higher in the flowery fields of 
imagination, and penetrate farther in the intricacies of science, 
than those who have been reared amongst the ponderous tomes 
of time honored colleges. 

When the mysterious and immortal ray of genius is implanted in 
the breast by the hand of the high priest of Nature, all other re- 
quisitions — the titles of inheritance, the academic lessons of learn- 
ed masters, and even the smiles of cheering friends, are but secon- 
dary considerations to the predestined fortune of the recipient. 
Where was the line of kings from which Napoleon descended ^ 
Would it not have provoked a smile, had the plodding youth 
when but a humble subordinate, whispered his secret hopes and 
aspirations ? And yet the spark which then but feebly flickered 



8 

in his ambitious heart, ere long blazed forth the brightest sun in 
the military world. No circumstanees can defeat the destiny of 
mind: chains cannot fetter it, nor can any power short of prescience 
prescribe its limits. The inspired bard of our father-land, 
had no teacher on his loved banks of Avon but Nature, and yet 
his works have become the precepts of all learned doctors. 
Who can see the career of gifted minds .'' Who can say to our 
young republic, "thus far shalt thou go, and no farther?" 

The history of America is before her. The account of her 
birth, and the vigor of her growth in the nursery, are yet only 
inscribed on the tablets of her history. What may be written 
in future, who can tell? That she is peculiarly favored of hea- 
ven, her herculean act of strangling the serpent of tyranny at 
her birth is conclusive evidence. What greater work of the 
intellect can be conceived, than the establishment of a novel and 
perfect system of government, embracing an immense continent 
and administering to the wants of many millions of people? And 
if America has excelled in arms, triumphed in legislation, and 
linked her commerce Avith every fruitful land, is it to be sup- 
posed that she will long remain indifferent to the glories of lite- 
rature? She boasts her philosophers, her orators, and artists, 
whose names have reached beyond the confines of their coun- 
try — and truly, but some half dozen authors — and thus there is 
a woful discrepancy in her literary reputation. 

The Americans have hitherto been accustomed to look to 
England for literary aliment, and however pernicious the viands 
might prove which were set before them by the industrious 
caterers for public taste, yet they became fashionable, and their 
use almost universal. The American publisher could obtain 
every new work free of expense, and the prejudice once exist- 
ing against the mother country, gradually subsiding as our bles- 
sings increased, his shelves were relieved of their volumes by 
greedy purchasers, and thus his profits were made enormous, 
because no expenditure was rec[uired to keep his press in motion. 
Native authors could get neither smiles nor money for their 
labors. Foreign writers were lauded by mercenary critics, and 
read by the community, whilst American aspirants languished 



in neglect, until habit had nearly riveted the mental yoke of 
British bondage imperceptibly, on the same people, who once 
rose in their power and defied the embattled hosts of the most 
warlike nation of the earth. Legislators feared to make enact- 
ments protecting our wTiters, under the impression, that the 
facilities of disseminating knowledge among the people, would 
be "too suddenly curtailed," by arresting the piratical traffic in 
the productions of mind. So long had we luxuriated on the 
rich cargoes of free traders without the expense of freight 
or duty, and so long been accustomed to look in vain for 
a rivalry in similar wares amongst ourselves, that a senator from 
Pennsylvania openly avowed his fears, that should the authors 
of other countries be privileged to enjoy the exclusive advan- 
tages of their own property on this side of the ocean, and the 
rising generation be compelled to look to their own scholars for 
erudition, a dearth of intellect might ensue, which would be 
ruinous to our future welfare. In this manner did tories and old 
women argue, when it was proposed to destroy the tea in Bos- 
ton. A slight sacrifice, and a resolute struggle, and the shackles 
of mind will be removed, as were the chains of oppression 
when we determined to be free! Although the law for the pro- 
tection of American authors was doubtful in its origin, sluggish 
in its progress, and still pending, yet its passage must now be 
inevitable, for the people have taken it under consideration, and 
their decision may be indicated by the recent change of the esti- 
mation in which American writers were held. The fiat of the 
nation will be for the encouragement of native authors, and 
before this generation shall have passed away, the complexion of 
our literature will be changed; genius will soar beyond the taunts 
of bloated sycophants, and not only receive its ample reward in 
worldly emoluments, but authorship will be considered, as it 
justly merits to be, the most exalted pursuit of man. 

The change is now in operation: American authors, and 
American books, even now, are no longer the objects of ridi- 
cule abroad. Their merit is at length acknowledged in those 
countries most famed for talent, and American works are begin- 
ning to be reprinted and extensively circulated amongst those 
who have hitherto affected to jeer our impotence. 
2 



10 

At home, we perceive a numerous and intelligent class of 
readers evincing a determination to foster native talent. Having 
in vain anticipated the passage of a law of protection, with a 
commendable public virtue which should be honored through all 
time, they have resolved to test the efficacy of the American 
mind, and consequently, the interminable tales of German ghosts, 
and the nauseous productions of English epicures, have been 
almost simultaneously banished from our periodical press, and 
the rage for original contributions substituted in their place. 
The periodicals which persisted in furnishing their readers 
exclusively with stale republications, are now, (with one or two 
exceptions, and these are supported by resident foreigners,) 
amongst the forgotten things of the past, and those most suc- 
cessful are entirely composed of original matter. This is a 
change in our literary prospects of no ordinary import: it forms 
an era in the literature of America. From the great number of 
elegant magazines springing into existence, it is proven that we 
are a reading community, and from the decided favor now 
bestowed on native talent, it is seen that the sovereign people 
have espoused the cause of their own authors, despite the dila- 
tory proceedings of their servants in congress. The voice of 
the nation will be for national writers, and the spread of repub- 
lican principles; and those representatives who may persist in 
thwarting their desires will reap a nation's censure. 

The present is the most auspicious period for America to 
commence her literary career. Whilst the wounds of self- 
infliction, caused by the neglect to form a just copy-right law, 
are yet rankling, and ere time shall make our habit of submis- 
sion to Europeans in the grand eiibrts of mind a portion of our 
nature, the corner-stone of a noble structure might be laid, 
which the genius of the people should rear in future far higher 
than any has yet been done by the most cultivated nations. Con- 
scious power will strain every fibre to prevent defeat by the 
artifices of the feeble. American writers, though laboring under 
continued poverty and neglect, have continued to struggle on. 
They have finally succeeded in winning the meed of admiration 
even from their rivals. And now, when the tide of popular 



11 

prejudice, and the laxity of the laws which opposed them are 
being removed, and the mind indignant with the Avrongs it has 
endured, and its energies roused to triumph over every obstacle, 
is the most fitting time for our authors to assert their claims for 
celebrity. They will have retribution for the injuries tliey have 
sustained; for the removal of the clouds which so long obscured 
them, will serve to display their light with ten-fold brilliance. 

The time is approaching when the labor of the mind will as 
readily command its reward as the labor of the hands. Pens 
that have long remained idle, will be in requisition, and genius 
will cast its rags to be arrayed in robes. In the most prosper- 
ous states of antiquity, true greatness consisted in exalted wis- 
dom and unblemished virtue. One giant intellect exercised more 
influence than a thousand stalwart men of ordinary faculties. 
Such will be the case in our country, and already has one presi- 
dent set an example for future rulers. Whatever may be the 
trusts reposed in the hands of literary men, by the president or 
the people, its safe keeping, and the faithful discharge of the 
duties appertaining, may be confidently relied upon. History 
mentions but few (if any) instances, wherein the meritorious 
aspirants for literary fame have proved wanting in manly integ- 
rity. The fruits of dishonesty can only be enjoyed by the reci- 
pient during his sojourn on earth. The true child of genius 
anticipates an eternity of enjoyment, and would not barter his 
interest in a future age for an empire gained by injustice, and 
maintained in blood, wherein his name would be buried in his 
grave, or only remembered to be execrated. The man of gifted 
mind finds no interest in the fleeting sweets of the earth, but 
soars heavenward in glorious thought, cleaves the etherial air 
beyond the eagle's flight, scans with feelings of unmingled 
delight, the stupendous works of nature in the eternal cloud 
capped hills, the roar of the unfathomed ocean, or the revolu- 
tions of innumerable worlds, and bows in unfeigned adoration 
to the great author of all. 

Neither the glittering ingots of gold so much worshipped by 
the grasping, nor the flitting reward of intrigue and deception so 
much idolized by the politician, have any charms for the man 



12 

of genius; for he possesses a world within himself of which no 
misfortune can bereave him, and whicli perishes not with the 
body. When his eye rests furtively on suiTOunding objects, 
and men pass by unnoticed, and sounds vibrate through the air 
unheard, the pallid brow is not the record of remorse, nor the 
fixed abstraction the trance of stupor. The mind is busy with 
meditations unknown to the multitude, and the soul is exulting 
in the consciousness of immortality. He feels the link that binds 
him to another state of existence, where the prizes which men 
toil for on earth are unknown and valueless, save a good name, 
and he scorns the gauds that would tempt the short-sighted to 
leap beyond the bounds of honor. There is every reason for 
America to exalt her men of genius. They can neither stoop 
to peculation with a thirst for gain, nor be swayed by intimida- 
tion from the path of rectitude. Such alone are the pillars 
which must support our institutions through future ages. 

America has not yet had a fair field, in the competition for 
literary laurels: but the consequence will be instead of defeat 
and despondency, a redoubled vigilance and an unswerving de- 
termination to excel. Had we contended on equal grounds, we 
should have submitted openly, had defeat been possible to Ameri- 
cans. But this has not been the case. What success could 
even an Irving, a Cooper or a Paulding expect, (to say nothing 
of those possessing extraordinary merit, but who from the suici- 
dal course pursued in regard to a national literature, are without 
"a habitation and a name,") when the works of a Goldsmitli, a 
Scott and a Bulvver, were offered to the reader at the booksel- 
lers' counter, for one third of the amount demanded for Ameri- 
can books.'' 

Yet foreign critics, not content with the vantage ground they 
possessed, (when driven from the assumption that "no one reads 
an American book,") have directed their thunders against those 
amongst us who, iVom factitious circumstances, have obtained 
an ephemeral notoriety. After having in vain attempted to 
transfix the eagle Avith their malignant shafts, they would fain 
vent their enmity on the innocent butterfly. That an abundance 
of game may be Ibund amongst us for their employment, there 



r" 13 

cannot exist a doubt: but that their efforts to destroy the gilded 
vermin, will be attended with injury to the country, is not in th& 
most remote degree to be apprehended. Genius soars the higher, 
when the object of pointed scrutiny. But it cannot be denied 
that amongst us, as in all nations, the weak and the vain are to 
be found. A rich man may acquire more popularity from the 
perpetration of a few jingling stanzas, than a despised son of 
the garret shall obtain from volumes, containing the gems of di- 
vine thought. But the praise of the one ceases at the grave, 
whilst the name of the other lives after him. 

It is a reliance on an unerring future, which inspires the child 
of genius to toil in obscurity. He relinquishes the prospects of 
immediate gain, in a total abandonment of every enjoyment, for 
some all-absorbing desire of the soul. Every power of the 
mind and body is exerted for the accomplishment of his grand 
object. Nor is his life, however degraded in the estimation of 
those more fortunate in the possession of worldly goods, bereft 
of every pleasure. The blurred walls of his wretched hovel 
sink before his sparkling eye, and his fruitive imagination calls 
into existence porphyry palaces of splendor, and his teeming 
fancy peoples them with appreciating beings who bow in reve- 
rence to his power. Ideal virgins crown him with rich chaplets, 
and a million voices salute him as the great master spirit. Thus 
it is why the author retires to commune with himself Unfit to 
strive with the thrifty for gold, and finding no companionship in 
those who indulge not in inspired revery, he locks himself within 
his gloomy closet, and although hooted by the idle populace, 
yet is he enabled to unroll the scroll of the future, and enjoy in 
anticipation, the fame of his mighty Avorks. Should his hopes 
never be realized, his pleasure is none the less: but there must 
be some secret assurance of reward, which induces a mortal to 
devote his life to the cause of letters, to neglect the smiles of 
fortune and endure the evils of poverty. 

The oft repeated remark that "poets are always poor," has 
become a proverb; and the profession of authorship, if connect- 
ed with poverty, in the estimation of the money making commu- 
nity, is a disgraceful calling. The works of mind branded with 



14 

disgrace! But it may be accounted for in the continued neglect 
of genius on the part of those who should patronize it, and its 
own unobtrusive character and unconquerable pride which revolts 
at the thought of solicitation. Authors are poor, and poverty a 
reproach. It remains for America to amend the evil. But a 
small portion of the money expended by the public on idle en- 
tertainments, w^ould rescue every scribbler in the universe from 
starvation. Meritorious writers should be fostered: they can- 
not be exalted too high; nor will they repay the favors of their 
country witli ingratitude. 

The nature of a people is in some degree assimilated with 
the character of the country and clime they inhabit. America, 
with lier fifteen hundred square miles, and her latitude varying 
from the soft gales of Arcadia, to the rude blasts of Russia, may 
boast a broader field for intellectual enterprise than any nation 
of the earth. Accustomed to viewing immense cities in every 
direction; beholding vast lakes and unfathomed bays; rivers, 
whose length surpasses any in the world; and interminable plains, 
whose dimensions the compass and the chain have not yet mark- 
ed — the mind is naturally more expansive, than when confined 
within the limits of a narrow state or island, where the eye takes 
in at one glance nearly the whole penfold of a monarch's clus- 
tering subjects. 

Each citizen of America is one of the supreme lords of tlie 
land. He journeys for days and weeks, and whithersoever he 
places his foot, he may exclaim, "This is my country." No 
tyrant dare confront him, and he proudly feels the blessings of 
liberty. Every one then, enjoys an interest in the confederacy. 
Whilst the aristocrats who have their titles and wealth at stake 
in Europe, constitute the only class willing to exert themselves 
for the perpetuity of established institutions, and the accession 
of governmental power, in America, every individual exults in 
the glory of his country, and would freely die to maintain its 
honor. The whole nation is desirous of national renown, and 
every man is willing to contril)ute to its acquisition. Thus, 
whilst but a select few may hope to Avin military or literary 
laurels in regal governments, our republic opens the lists for 



15 

* every man. Nor is it without a possibility of success that the 
humblest and most obscure join in the competition for literary 
fame, as Avell as for martial glory. An inscrutible Providence 
makes no distinction in the gifts of mind: nor is the wealth of 
intellect inherited like kingdoms. If the laborer's son is deserv- 
ing, he is born to the privilege of being a president. We have 
no distinctions but those of the heart and mind. The man, and 
not his occupation, is the standard of respectability. The pros- 
pects of all are equal, and the efforts of each enhance the pros- 
pects of the nation. 

There is not a lyceum in this fair city, but performs a service 
to the country. The poorest mechanic may shed lustre on his 
native land. He may command armies, preside over councils, 
or confer benefits on future generations by the blessings of wis- 
dom. It matters not what may be his trade, nor what the con- 
dition of his purse: if heaven has touched his heart with one 
glimmer of genius, he may surmount every obstacle. The want 
of academic tutors, and the absence of the ten thousand gilded 
volumes unread in the rich man's library, need not deter him. 
Nature "is mighty and can prevail." Even in the land where 
rank and wealth combined to crush the hopes of honest poverty, 
the genius of a Burns inscribed his name in living letters, which 
will be read until the language expires. But in this land the 
meritorious need not look to the beneficence of the great for 
reward; they have the bestowal of honors and emoluments in 
their own hands, and the highest in office is dependant on their 
favor. The poor form a majority in all countries, and where the 
multitude is ignorant and debased, the supremacy of the laws 
can only be maintained by the sword. Thus citizens sink to 
slaves. But when the humbler classes are impressed with the 
value of knowledge, and often meet to make interchange of 
thought, to sally together up the delightful heights of science, 
or gather perenne roses in the inexhaustible fields of poetry; 
men rise almost to gods, and neither traitors nor tyrants will 
ever attempt to enslave them. 

The ancients would never have degenerated, had such men 
as Socrates and Cicero been cherished. But in that evil hour, 



16 

when the best friends of the state were doomed to death, the 
curse of ignorance, and its attendant despotism, seized upon 
the people. The poison which passed the lips of Socrates 
penetrated the vitals of Greece, and the axe that fell upon the 
neck of Cicero, severed the head of Rome. 

The superiority of mind over every other possession of man, 
is sufficiently proven by the endurance of its works, after every 
other vestige of his being is swallowed up in the yawning gulph 
of oblivion. The crumbling columns" of the Pantheon speak 
the skill, but not the names of the artisans who wrought them. 
Mighty heroes have risen, and after brandishing their gory 
swords a few brief years, have returned to dust, to be no more 
remembered forever, whilst Cicero's fearless accusation of Cati- 
line in the senate, and even the gentle Pliny's account of the 
eruption of Mount Vesuvius, are still the subjects of universal 
admiration. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 









3 Unf m 


Hi 


V 


\ 1 


mm 



